Who and Where is Amalek Today?

March 8th, 2011, In Articles, Festivals, by Yossi Katz

The Midrash relates: Cursed are the wicked. They occupy their time with ideas about how to destroy the Jews, with each one vying for the honor of having the best idea. Esav ridiculed Cain for killing Abel during Adam’s lifetime.. If Cain wanted the whole world for himself, he should have realized that Adam was still alive and could have more children. Esav was not going to make that mistake. He would wait until Yitzchok’s death and then kill Yaakov. Later, it was Pharaoh’s turn to laugh at Esav. Didn’t Esav know that Yaakov could have children before Yitzchok died? Nothing would be gained by killing Yaakov if he had offspring that would survive him. Pharaoh thought himself smarter than Esav. He would kill every Jewish male at birth. Centuries later it was Pharaoh’s turn to be thought a fool, by Haman. Didn't Pharaoh understand that even if one Jewish male remained he could father the nation anew? Haman’s plan was to kill them all!

The Midrash concludes by teaching that in the future, Gog and Magog will deride Haman. Didn’t Haman know that the Jews have a Father in Heaven Who will never let them be destroyed as long as they do His bidding? So they will first do battle with G-d by keeping the Jews from observing the Torah and mitzvot. This will enable them to destroy the Jews. But G-d’s response to this is clear: “I have many messengers whom I can send into battle. But the war against Gog and Magog I shall wage Myself. Their destruction shall be complete” (Esther Rabbah 7:23.)

Today, though Amalek definitely and unfortunately exists, we cannot say with certainty who, or where, all of them are. However, there is a noteworthy exception. When Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany visited Jerusalem during his journey to the Holy Land almost all the religious leaders of Jerusalem came to the city gates to greet him. Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (d.1932), the spiritual leader of Ashkenazic Jewry in Israel at that time, did not go. When asked about his refusal he answered that although the Kaiser himself was deserving of the honor bestowed upon him, “I have a tradition that Germany is Amalek.”

The Amalek Within
Our Sages teach that G-d says to the Jews, “If you do not remember Amalek, you will be sent back to the bondage of Egypt”  (Pesikta Rabati 12). This is exhibited frequently on a personal level. The modus operandi that Amalek has always used in attacking the Jews can be described in a word: Devious. He gets the international community embroiled in some sort of political or military conflict for example, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait or he gets Jews to engage in some worthy cause “civil rights” all with one goal in mind: The annihilation of the Jews. Amalek has the same numerical value (240) as “safek”, doubt (B’nei Yissaschar, Purim). The Amalek that is omnipresent today are the questions and doubts that we have regarding our faith. This includes the uncertainties, confusion and troubles we face when we lack proper direction and advice. When we strengthen ourselves in true faith in G-d, we overpower the Amalek within.

Reb Noson writes that Amalek corresponds to burning lust, the strife between husband and wife, between a person and his community and the hatred directed against the true tzaddikim (Likutey Halakhot, Minchah 7:20).

An additional aspect of Amalek that is prevalent today: False leaders.
“The Torah writes [Amalek] smote the hindmost among you” (Deuteronomy 25:18). Our Sages teach: “[Amalek] separates the tails and throws them high (Tanchuma, Ki Taytze 10). Reb Noson writes: “Amalek found a clever way to destroy the Jewish nation. ‘He takes the tails,’ people of little or no stature and ‘throws them high’ makes them into Jewish leaders (Likutey Halakhot, Shabbat, 5:9). Thus, the Jewish people have been fooled into thinking that their leaders are men of stature when in reality many of them are ordinary people who lack the ability to guide. A nation without proper leaders is easily misled, and so many unsuspecting and misguided Jews end up living a life devoid of real Jewish meaning.

Yet another face of Amalek that plagues us today is forgetfulness (ibid., Aveidah u’Metzia 1:3). We forget G-d’s goodness, the countless times He’s helped us in many ways, large and small (ibid., Nachlot 4:12). This leads to our forgetting about G-d, the Torah and mitzvot, and even the Moshiach, who will bring the Ultimate Redemption. Perhaps, since Amalek represents forgetfulness, we’re instructed to remember what he did. Even though we don’t know which individuals today are Amalekites, the mitzvah to remember the evil, ruthless and cruel behavior they personify, remains. This mitzvah is fulfilled when we recite the passage in Deuteronomy 25, verses 17-19. This is done communally on the Sabbath preceding Purim. Some have a custom of saying these verses daily (see Sha’ar HaKavannot, Inyan Yotzer Or, p.119)

Ultimately, Amalek will be destroyed. He will be set upon by thieves who will leave him penniless (Tana d’Bei Eliyahu Raba 24) Then G-d Himself will battle Amalek, exposing him for the sinner that he is before removing him from the face of the earth (Tana d’Bei Eliyahu Zuta 19). May this take place quickly, in our lifetime, Amen.

About The Author - Yossi Katz
Yossi Katz currently lives in Lakewood, NJ where he runs the BRI American Office. He studied in Beth Medrash Gevoha, as well as the former Breslov Kollel of Lakewood headed by Rabbi Shlomo Goldman.

Amalek is as much a concept as it is people.  The concept of evil that has been our nemesis throughout history stems from the initial prophecy in the Torah that Amalek came from a distance away (we did not bother him nor encroach upon his domain) simply to kill us.  This became the general concept that any enemy throughout history that wanted to destroy us was called Amalek.  Take note that the above mentions several times that we are not talking a single individual but any leader, military figure, politician, etc who is destructive and dangerous to the Jewish nation are designated as Amalekites.  Even the concept of each one of us who is not doing everything according to the ways of Hashem needs to eradicate the Amalek within us.  This idea is prevalent in the commentary of Parshas Zachor that we recite on Shabbat before Purim (the story of the Amalekite Haman who was a descendant of Amalek).

Now read an article posted on October 21, 2012
In Featured Stories,News In Focus,Paul Watson Articles

Obama and Romney: War No Matter Who Wins Election
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com October 21, 2012

Once again emphasizing there is no fundamental difference between Obama and Romney when it comes to attacking Iran, the American Jewish Committee has published the answers to a questionnaire sent to the candidates.

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency ^[1] website:
“I am prepared to use all elements of American power” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Obama said in the questionnaires released Oct. 18 by the AJC, “including a political effort to further isolate Iran, a diplomatic effort to sustain our coalition, an economic effort that has imposed crippling sanctions, and a military effort to be prepared for any contingency.

”Romney’s response was nearly identical:
“I will press for ever tightening sanctions on the regime, acting multilaterally where we can and unilaterally where we must, and leave no doubt in the mind of the regime’s leaders that the military option remains on the table.”

Romney tried to make political points by sucking up to Israel and the Israeli lobby in the United States: “Unlike President Obama, I understand that distancing the U.S. from Israel does not earn us credibility in the Arab world or bring peace closer,” he said. “Instead, it encourages Palestinians to hold out and wait for Washington to deliver more Israeli concessions.”

Romney said he plans to create “regional directors” who “will possess unified budgetary and policy authority.”

The JTA’s response to this development: “With such powers concentrated in an individual, pro-Israel group would likely closely watch and want to influence whomever a Romney administration would name to the Middle East post.”

In fact, pro-Israel neocons already dictate Romney’s Middle East foreign policy. Fifteen of the 22 members of Romney’s foreign policy team were policy advisers under Bush, and six of them are former members of PNAC, Joseph Sarkisian ^[2] points out.

Neocons from the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institute, and the Hudson Institute dominate Romney’s advisors. “The American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) thinks highly of these policy advisers, who are all ardent supporters of the Israeli desire to end Iran’s nuclear program with force if necessary,” writes Sarkisian.

“Just like in Iraq, there is no verifiable proof of WMD in Iran, yet once again the same group of people wants to use the same methods to start a similar war for the interests of the few, with no regard for the consequences,” he concludes.

Poll results are, of course, highly misleading, but if we are to believe the latest results Romney and Obama are locked in a dead heat ^[3] sixteen days out from the election.

Establishment fount Forbes ^[4] predicts that if Obama gets re-elected, Israel will attack Iran in January, a move that will undoubtedly be supported by the United States.

Despite Romney’s coterie of neocons, Democrat Chuck Schumer ^[5] believes Obama is more likely to attack Iran than his opponent. “I’ll tell you this on Iran, and I've said this to a couple of Romney supporters who agree, that if the sanctions fail, and military action is warranted, a re-elected President Obama is far more likely to launch that kind of military action, probably in concert with Israel, than would Mitt Romney,” Schumer told CNN in September.

Following Obama’s lackadaisical performance during the first debate, his administration “leaked” a plan for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. CFR member and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, David Rothkopf ^[6], wrote in Foreign Policy earlier this month that the White House and Israeli officials “assert that the two sides behind the scenes have come closer together in their views [regarding Iran] in recent days.”

Rothkopf quoted a “source close to the discussions” as saying that a surgical strike aimed at Iran’s enrichment facilities “might take only ‘a couple of hours’” at best and would be conducted by air using bombers and drones.

Despite the outcome of the election, a strike on Iran – limited, surgical or otherwise – will occur within the next few months, if not weeks.

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URLs in this post:
[1] Jewish Telegraphic Agency: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/21/3109811/romney-obama-pledge-to-isolate-iran-support-israel-in-ajc-questionnaire
[2] Joseph Sarkisian: http://www.policymic.com/articles/3662/warning-mitt-romney-s-advisers-are-george-bush-neocons-calling-for-war-with-iran
[3] locked in a dead heat: http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2012/10/21/barack-obama-mitt-romney-nbc-news-poll-dead-heat/1647195/
[4] Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/30/if-obama-gets-second-term-israels-january-attack-on-iran-looms-large/2/
[5] Chuck Schumer: http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/12/schumer-a-re-elected-obama-far-more-likely-than-romney-to-launch-military-attack-on-iran/
[6] David Rothkopf: http://www.infowars.com/u-s-and-israel-planning-joint-attack-on-iran/ .

I have stated that both Obama and Romney are in cahoots with the Bush Cabal that is bent upon the evil concept of the New World Order.  Unfortunately, I cannot disclose my sources for this information since they are Washington insiders who would cut me off from information if disclosed.  Suffice it to say that these sources have provided me with extremely accurate information for many years and I trust their present take on the situation.  There are other reasons (that I expect to disclose, B”N, in the near future about other devious activities from both Obama and Romney) that also prove their evil, self-serving ways.  The most important thing to take from this is that the concept of Amalek fits these two individuals perfectly.  If you don't believe that they are dangerous individuals involved in the same diabolical plot, then you may find yourself a victim of their madness.  I know that voting for either one of them is a vote against Hashem and the goodness of this world – as Amalek represents.

Additional notes:
I was asked if I am permitted to suggest an act that seems to go against Halachah.  The example here is my telling you not to vote for these individuals.  Hashem has never given us a Halachah that can put us in danger.  A common sense evaluation would tell you that voting for an evil individual that is working to destroy 90% of the world population goes against Hashem’s instructions to work with the civilian government.  Yes, we are instructed to cooperate with the government of the country that we live in, but never, I repeat, never if they advocate anything that is completely contrary to Hashem’s ways.  If a government told us to stop Bris Millah, or Ritual slaughter of Kosher animals (both of which have occurred recently in various evil countries), it is obvious that we are involved in a Chillu Hashem that we are not allowed to honor.  Very specifically, there is no Halachah to vote especially for a tyrant who is interested in the demise of Hashem’s nation (I take that as a very personal danger to me and my family).

The Torah is our guide through life and would never include misguided information to lead us to destruction.

One additional question that I was asked.
If I am not interested in people posting as Anonymous, why do I have it as a possibility on my blog?  I am not the web designer.  Blogspot, which provides bloggers a template for posting blogs, is the designer.  I attempted to remove the Anonymous from the comment posting, but to no avail since it is part of the programming from Blogspot.  I complain only because “Anonymous” has been used almost completely by the negative, most uninformed individuals (who are obviously ashamed of their shortcomings).  Since I am interested in the welfare of my readers, and I know how much damage an individual can be doing to him or herself by such negativity, it pains me to see such posting.  I have provided an Email address for anyone who wishes to question anything that I write.  That has been very successful and has been used by many.  To arrogantly state without proof that I am wrong about something serves no benefit to the poster, me or any reader who wants to learn.  Please, please, please ask questions; don't make derogatory statements. Never feel embarrassed by a question or even if you learned something that is contrary to what I have posted.  You have two choices:  send a private Email to question the difference in information or state your belief but with scriptural proof.  I am human.  I make mistakes and will be the first to research any disagreements presented.  But since March, when I started this blog, I have had one legitimate mistake pointed out to me that I immediately corrected.  The rest of the negative comments were either subjects, that I was able scripturally support my presented information or the comment was totally useless, such as “that is not the truth.”

One interesting thing that each one of you can learn from the way you feel about anything that I post “is that my true feeling about the subject or is it the Amalek in me leading me astray?”  Yes, we all have some Amalek to eliminate.  The most important thing in studying Torah and Hashem’s ways is recognizing the Amalek side of us and knowing how to get rid of it.  That is the most beneficial part of the Halachah to “eliminate Amalek.”